
 |
|
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Jan. 30, 2009
/ 15 Shevat 5769
Taint extant
By
Jack Kelly
| >
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
When in the last election Democrats spoke of a "culture of corruption"
in Washington, few realized they were making a campaign promise.
The Obama administration is only a few weeks old, but already more
senior officials in it have suffered from ethical taint than in any
previous administration.
The late night comics have noticed.
"There was a huge scientific
breakthrough today," said Jay Leno. "Researchers say they are very
close to finding someone from Obama's Cabinet who's actually paid their
taxes."
Mr. Leno was referring to former Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle,
whose nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services was
withdrawn after it was disclosed he didn't pay $101,000 worth of taxes
owed for a car and driver, or pay taxes on $83,000 of consulting income
in 2007, and Timothy Geithner, who was confirmed as Treasury Secretary
despite his failure to pay his payroll taxes for four years.
Hours before Mr. Daschle withdrew his nomination Tuesday, Nancy Killefer
withdrew hers as Chief Compliance Officer when it was revealed the
District of Columbia had placed a lien on her Wesley Heights mansion for
failure to pay unemployment compensation tax for a household employee.
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Ca), the nominee for Secretary of Labor, apparently
violated House rules by failing to disclose she was an officer of a
group lobbying Congress.
Eric Holder was confirmed as attorney general despite having
circumvented Justice Department rules to obtain a pardon for fugitive
financier Marc Rich when he was deputy attorney general during the
waning days of the Clinton administration. In a 2002 report, the House
Government Operations Committee described Mr. Holder's behavior in the
Rich affair as "unconscionable."
On January 6, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew as the nominee
for Secretary of Commerce when it was disclosed the FBI was
investigating him in connection with a "pay to play" scandal.
Gov. Richardson was, many think, President Obama's second choice. Mr.
Obama was thought to have wanted to name Penny Pritzker, his campaign
finance chairman, to the Commerce post, but feared nominating her might
bring unwelcome scrutiny to her role in the subprime mortgage crisis.
(Ms. Pritzker pioneered the nefarious instruments at her now defunct
Superior bank in suburban Chicago.)
Hoping the third time would be the charm, President Obama on Monday
chose Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire for the Commerce post.
So on Wednesday we learn that Mr. Gregg's former legislative director
was tangentially involved in the Jack Abramoff scandal.
The most recent candidate in the malleable ethics sweepstakes is Ron
Sims, chosen Monday to be the deputy secretary of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development. As King County (Seattle) executive, Mr.
Sims was fined $124,000 for "blatant" violations of Washington state's
state public records act for failure to release documents with regard to
financing of the stadium where the Seattle Seahawks play. Last month
the state supreme court said the fine should be increased.
Congress has turned an indulgent eye to these ethical lapses because
there are many in Congress who are guilty of the same, or worse.
Charles Rangel (D-NY) remains chairman of the House Ways and Means
Committee despite his failure to pay taxes on $75,000 in rental income,
and according to a report issued Wednesday repeatedly failing to
comply with Congressional financial disclosure rules. Sen. Chris Dodd
(D-Countrywide Mortgage) remains as chairman of the Senate Finance
Committee despite having received a sweetheart loan from one of the
worst of the subprime mortgage villains.
The Charlotte Observer endorsed Barack Obama for president, but is
having second thoughts:
"Two weeks into the Obama presidency, we like his campaign better than
his administration," the Observer said Wednesday. "While some of his
appointments are outstanding, others were either badly botched or
reflect a half-hearted commitment to the change principle central to his
ballot box success."
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Jack Kelly, a former Marine and Green Beret, was a
deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan
administration. Comment by clicking here.
Jack Kelly Archives
© 2008, Jack Kelly
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
Matt Davies
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|